Take a minute to go online and head to the website votefromabroad.org, where, regardless of your political affiliation, you can easily be signed up to defend your position, even if it's from abroad.

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - We agree with those in Puerto Vallarta who are intent on discussing the issue that the upcoming election in the United States is going to be one of the most important events in the history of the country.

If one party wins, there will be upheaval and chaos; the other party is determined to make serious changes that have been the subject of much debate pre-nomination. The conventions were watched closely here in Mexico and around the world with many people having strong opinions and much at stake.

For those who have not yet taken the time to register, there is little time to waste and we know the days can flash by in Puerto Vallarta while lazing around the pool in an attempt to keep cool, sipping on a refreshing daiquiri. Take the time to head to the website votefromabroad.org and regardless of your political affiliation, you can easily sign up to defend your position, even if it's from abroad.

Don't be afraid to be informed. Check out information about the candidates on sites other than Facebook. You will find that moveon.org leans to the left but has a lot of great data and for a relatively unbiased point of view, go to npr.org.

There are sites that can give you issues divided by party, state and local district. A couple of them are fvap.gov/links and fvap.gov/citizen-voter and those links will lead you to answers of questions and updated information about your home state and town.

Getting your vote sent in early, at least forty-five days before the election, is imperative. This length of time will be necessary to process your vote and enable officials to get back to you in the case of any questions and resolve any problems they might discover. We have heard of voters forgetting to place signatures properly, for example.

It's not necessary to have an address in the United States; this does not disallow you to vote if you are a citizen. Wherever you originally hailed from is the place you will register. Several states and the District of Columbia allow US citizens who have never resided in the United States to register where their parent would be eligible to vote. We encourage first time voters to exercise their rights; eligibility requires US citizens to be 18 years or older.